PROJECT STATEMENTS
Generation 1.75
On the day I was born in India, my father flew to Queens, NY to finish his medical education. My mother followed three months later and I was left to be raised by my grandparents. As a young child I knew that my parents lived elsewhere, and that I was in a temporary habitat. I felt special but also felt like an outsider in my own homeland. I would often stand on the roof of the house I grew up in and look at the moon and see if I could find my parents.
I came to the United States at the age of 5, reunited with my parents and began a new life in suburban New Jersey. I lived a life filled with expectations: my parents, society’s, my own and what it means to be Indian American growing up in NJ. My project, Generation 1.75 is a metaphorical and lyrical look at themes of loss, uprootedness, and gained perspective in my personal journey of migration, identity, and the emotions that accompany the lifelong exploration of where I belong and who I am.
I often feel of two worlds, sometimes not quite settled, not fully rooted. I am part of Generation 1.5/1.75, a termed coined by Professor Ruben Rumbaut in 1969 to distinguish those who immigrate as children from their parents who immigrate as adults. As immigrant children, there is a discontinuity with our origins due to inherited circumstance beyond our control. This exploration of self, often using the narrative of the natural world, helps me understand the precarious balance of integration and alienation, neither here nor there and then sometimes also both here and there. I am sometimes the alienated insider, sometimes the Other, and at times, fully and easily assimilated. Growing up multicultural can be conflicting and is a constant balancing act, a gift and a burden all at the same time.
In Gratitude
In Gratitude is an homage to food and family. Prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a series of portraits of myself, my husband, and my three children showcasing the items that we use to produce our daily meals. Inspired by Pablo Neruda’s Elemental Odes, I included my own poetry to celebrate and memorialize the everyday.
Prior to Covid-19, I was ambivalent about cooking. I sometimes viewed it as a chore to even think about what to create, and at other times I relished the opportunity to make a beautiful near-gourmet meal. But what lay behind my desire was to be the perfect parent. This was often thwarted with the reality of schedules, work, and external demands.
Covid-19 changed the way I approached our dinners. They became the highlight of our day and I was more thoughtful in my shopping and preparing. Perhaps if I could at least nourish my family, then somehow, we could be safe.
Despite the uncertainty and fear we felt because of the pandemic, it enabled me to see my gratitude more clearly, allowing me to honor the foods we eat and the laborers who bring this bounty to market through the creation of these portraits. I also learned to embrace the imperfections in myself so I could fully enjoy these moments before us.
In the words of MFK Fisher, “our three basic needs, for food, security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined, that we cannot straightly think about one without the others.”
BIOGRAPHY
Rohina Hoffman is an Indian-born American artist whose narrative work focuses on themes of identity, home, adolescence, and the female experience. Raised in New Jersey but now residing in California, Rohina received her BS in Neuroscience and MD both from Brown University. She also studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. After years of practicing as a clinical neurologist, she now focuses on her artistic practice.
Rohina published her first monograph Hair Stories with Damiani Editore (February 2019) accompanied by a solo exhibition at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School. Hair Stories is held in many notable public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Getty Research Institute, Cleveland Institute of Art, and over 30 university libraries.
Her second book, Embrace, with Schilt Publishing was released in January 2023 with a solo show of this work at the Griffin Museum of Photography (April 2023.) In 2021, she was the winner of the Purchase Award with Atlanta Photography Group and several of her prints from her Generation 1.75 project were acquired by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her photographs have been exhibited in juried group shows both nationally and internationally in venues such as The Center for Fine Art Photography, Griffin Museum, Atlanta Photography Group, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Los Angeles Center for Photography, Photo LA, and A. Smith Gallery. She has been published in Marie Claire Italia, F-Stop Magazine, Lenscratch, Shots Magazine, All About Photo, Dodho Magazine and Aesthetica Magazine among others.
CONTACT
View Website HERE I Please email inquiries about purchasing to rohina@rohinahoffman.com
Both projects seen at the Brand Gallery are featured in my most recent book, Embrace. Click HERE for purchasing book or silk scarf.
SERIES DETAILS
In Gratitude : Printed on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta Satin Paper (300gsm) with archival inks by the artist. Image size 20X20; Framed size 26X26, Edition of 15
Pricing starts at $1100 (unframed)/$1400 (framed)
Generation 1.75 : Printed on Canson Velin Museum Rag Paper (315gsm) with archival inks by the artist.
Image size 18.25X18.25; Framed size 18.5X18.5, Edition of 10
Pricing starts at $900 (unframed)/$1300 (framed)
Photos by Melanie Chapman